Shuttle for a loom



March 28, 1967 R. H. RossMAN 3,311,136

SHUTTLE FOR A LOOM Original Filed Nov. 23, 1962 FRG. l

INVENTOR.

RUDOLF ROSSMANN 1%@ ff 7% ATTQRNEYS United States Patent Oiiice 3,311,136 Patented Max'. 28, 1967 3,311,136 SHUTTLE FOR A LOOM Rudolf H. Rossman, Zugspitzstrasse 48, Gauting, near Munich, Germany Original application Nov. 23, 1962, Ser. No. 239,677, now Patent No. 3,263,705, dated Aug. 2, 1966. Divided and this application Aug. 19, 1965, Ser. No. 489,094 Claims. (Cl. 139-12) This is a 'division of U.S. patent application No. 239,677 of Rudolf H. Rossmann, led Nov. 23, 1962 and entitled Improved Weaving Method and Loom.

This invention relates to a new and improved method and apparatus for Weaving textiles and the like, more particularly to a weaving method `and apparatus wherein a plurality of shuttles are moving simultaneously through the shed.

It has been heretofore suggested that techniques be used whereby aplurality of shuttles are sequentially and simultaneously moving through the warp threads for the picking o-f the weft, but such methods have not been put to practice due to a variety of diiculties. One of these difficulties is the need for charging each shuttle with short wef-t threads substantially corresponding to the width of the material to be woven. Another diiculty resides in the problem of driving the plurality of shuttles through a shed constantly changing between the traveling shuttles. The various heretofore proposed solutions included the provision of the shuttles with a substantial number of teeth which, upon the movement of the shuttle would catch a thread from below and insert it into the shuttle but the resulting arrangement was ltoo complicated. For the shuttle drive it has been proposed to apply pressure through the warp threads from the outside of the shed, but this leads to warp thread breakage and similar other complications.

With the above disadvantages in view, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel method of weaving which is more efficient than prior art weaving methods.

The novel shuttle according to the invention is substantially of an elongated U-shaped, open at its rear end and one side whereby it can be simply pushed onto the end of a porter-forming blade, resulting in the formed porter being deposited and retained within the interior of the shuttle. The porter is retained within the shuttle in a manner whereby it can easily pay out the weft thread as the shuttle travels throughout the moving shed.

Further features -and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings showing a preferred embodiment of the invention, wherein:

FIG. l is a diagrammatic perspective view illustrating the forming of the porters, charging the shuttles and moving same through the shed;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of one embodiment of a shuttle, with parts shown broken away;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line 3 3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a transverse section taken along line 4 4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective View of the nose portion of a shuttle according to the invention;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken across another embodiment of a shuttle according to the invention.

In describing the invention, like reference numerals refer to the parts throughout.

The basic principle of the weaving method according to the invention is best shown in FIG. 1, wherein a weft thread 1 is fed through an arm of a bifurcated flyer 2, which is adapted to be rotated by a driving motor. The

flyer 2 rotates about a somewhat tapered stationary blade 6. The weft thread 1 is consequently wound around the blade 6. Individual porters 8 of the weft thread 1 are separated from each 4other as they are wound about the blade 6, the length of the weft thread comprising the porters substantially corresponding to the Width of the material to Abe woven, the individual porters being gradually and periodically pushed along the blade 6 in the right hand direction along the slight taper of the blade. As a porter 8 approaches the right hand end Iof the blade 6, a shuttle 10 is pushed with an open end thereof onto the blade, therebyv surrounding the porter 8 disposed at the right hand end of the blade.

As heddles 12 create a shed opening in warp threads 14 adjoining the right hand end of the blade 6, the shuttle 10 containing the outermost porter 8 is pushed into the shed. A plurality of reeds 16 project between the warp threads 14, the reeds being driven in a continuous wavelike motion by means to be described in greater detail herein following. As a shuttle 10 enters the shed at the input side, in FIG. l at the left hand side thereof, the reeds 16 with their selectively guided motion begin to push the shuttle across the shed, while the heddles 12 create a synchronous progressing shed opening at a given shuttle position. As the shuttle 10 progresses through the material, the weft thread from the porter 8 contained therein is continuously paid out behind the shuttle, and beat up against the fell 18 by the reeds 16.

By the time a shuttle 10 has reached the output side of the material to be woven; in FIG. l shown at the right hand side thereof, the entire length of the porter 8 of the weft thread has been paid out .and the shuttle is empty and it leaves the material, as shown in the right hand side of FIG. l. At this point, a selvedge can be formed at the edge of the fell 18. The empty shuttle 10 are then subsequently returned in the direction of the arrow and outside the fell of the other side of the loom to receive another porter 8 and start another weaving cycle as described above.

The construction of the individual shuttles l10 is described in reference to FIGS. 2-6. As shown in the cross-sectional views of FIGS. 3, 4 and 6, the shuttles ltia and 10b are preferably of an elongated U-shape, to be pushed over the blade 6 and an innermost porter 8 through the open side of the shuttle. The shuttles 10 may be made of molded plastic, metal, etc. In order to retain a porter within a shuttle 10a or 10b in the originally Wound thread formation of the porter as it was on the blade 6, means are provided within the shuttles to gently press the porter threads together, but at the same time, have enough resilient action to permit the weft thread of the porter to be paid out into the shed as the shuttle moves along therein. In the drawing, two typical such retaining means embodiments are shown. In FIGS. 2 4, these means comprise slanting transverse steel fingers 58 disposed on the interior walls of the shuttle 410 in an opposed aligned relationship, whereby 4a porter disposed between them is gently compressed to retain its shape. A shuttle of a similar embodiment may contain only one set of steel spring lingers 58, disposed along one inner shuttle wall only, the opposing shuttle wall being the other compressing surface to hold the porters within. In FIG. 6 a shuttle 10b is shown wherein the porter retaining means comprises a relatively high pile fabric lining 60` on the interior walls of the shuttle, such as velvet or a high pile synthetic material.

The front 62 of the shuttle is formed with a slight point in the direction of the shuttle movement through the shed and the material forming the sidewalls of the shuttle is bent back along one side so as to enclose the shuttle from the front, as best seen in FIGS. 2, 3 and 5. As is Vtween the overlapping sidewall portions.

shuttle portion, so that the shuttle will slide readily through the shed without catching on warped threads.

A's the bent back portion of a shuttle sidewall on they front 62 partially overlaps the front of the opposing shuttle sidewall (FIG. an opening 64 is provided be- Opening S is provided in front 62 to permit the entry of the weft thread. After the motion of the shuttle the weft thread will protrudethrough the opening 64. As shown in FIG. 2, the trailing edge 66 of the shuttle is formed with a slanting surface so that when the shuttle is in the shed Vand as the reeds 16 bear down on the trailing edge, the

pressure of the reeds will cause the shuttle to move forward across the shed.

What I claim is:

1. An elongated, fiat shuttle for picking a weft thread across a shed, comprising a top cover, a bottom cover, said top and bottom covers being disposed in a substantially overlapping relationship having a common long edge, and an overlapping portion, said portion forming a part of said bottom cover, and is formed to bend around to said top cover around a short edge thereof, disposed at a composite acute angle to said long edge.

2. A shuttle according to claim 1, wherein said shuttle further includes porter retaining means for retaining a porter within the shuttle.

3. `A shuttle according to claim 2, wherein said porter retaining means comprises a plurality of resilient iingers l adapted to retain a porter within said shuttle by resiliently pressing against the porter.

4. A shuttle according to claim 2, wherein said porter retaining means comprises a lining between said top and bottom covers, said lining being formed from a high pile fabric to retain a porter between said top and bottom covers.

5. A shuttle comprising spaced sidewalls between which a weft charge is adapted to be located, an inclined rear end adapted to be engaged `by reeds for propelling the shuttle through the shed, and a front end having a pointed portion of curved, blunt conguration wherein one of said sidewalls is a lower sidewall situated beneath the other sidewall during movement of the shuttle through a shed and said lower sidewall curving upwardly through said pointed portion at said front end.

References Cited by the Examiner FOREIGN PATENTS 689,338 9/1930 France. 626,902 4/1936 Germany. 646,465 1l/l950 Great Britain.

OTHER REFERENCES Schiesser, German application No. 1,023,424, January 1958.

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

ROBERT R. MACKEY, H. S. JAUDON,

Assistant Examiners. 

1. AN ELONGATED, FLAT SHUTTLE FOR PICKING A WEFT THREAD ACROSS A SHED, COMPRISING A TOP COVER, A BOTTOM COVER, SAID TOP AND BOTTOM COVERS BEING DISPOSED IN A SUBSTANTIALLY OVERLAPPING RELATIONSHIP HAVING A COMMON LONG EDGE, AND AN OVERLAPPING PORTION, SAID PORTION FORMING A PART OF SAID BOTTOM COVER, AND IS FORMED TO BEND AROUND TO SAID TOP COVER AROUND A SHORT EDGE THEREOF, DISPOSED AT A COMPOSITE ACUTE ANGLE TO SAID LONG EDGE. 